Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Amnesia?
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'...Han So-yeon? Who’s that?'
It was a response I hadn’t even remotely anticipated.
For a split second, I thought maybe So-yeon hadn’t revealed her identity to him back then, but no, that wasn’t it.
The image of her in my memories, practically bouncing with joy after we’d exchanged names for the first time, was crystal clear.
No matter that a decade had passed—not a short time by any means—he couldn’t possibly have forgotten the woman who’d ruined his life, the one who felt like his sworn enemy.
He’d even mentioned drowning his sorrows in drink to forget the pain of betrayal by the woman he’d trusted. And from his sleep-talking just recently, I knew he carried deep anguish over his shattered dantian.
So I’d assumed he had to know about Han So-yeon...
"I don’t know who that is, but I don’t know anyone at Mount Hua... I’ve never even been there..."
"..."
He acted as if he’d truly never heard the name before.
Wait a minute.
"You’ve never been to Mount Hua...?"
This went beyond just not knowing Han So-yeon.
Saying he’d never even set foot in Mount Hua meant he remembered nothing of his past at all.
Amnesia...?
I’d heard of it before.
When the mind suffers a severe shock, people lose memories of specific parts of their lives.
If he’d completely forgotten So-yeon—no, Mount Hua entirely—then it must have happened recently.
Back when we were together in Henan, he’d kept revealing that pain of betrayal by a past woman.
If he’d suffered some massive shock after that severe enough to wipe his memories...
...While he was unconscious?
It could only have been in Anhui.
Maybe the Blood Cult bastards had done something horrific to him?
What if he’d endured brutal torture before I arrived to rescue him?
And that’s why he’d craved physical pleasure just moments ago, to soothe that agony?
"...Ah..."
It was speculative, but the possibility felt all too real.
Having memories of what happened to those dragged off by the Blood Cult... their tortures were unimaginable, things no human should be capable of.
They were experts at toying with the mind, able to shatter it without leaving major physical scars.
There was that famous tale of a peak-level master who, after just a week in their clutches, couldn’t endure and took his own life.
If a mere civilian like him had suffered that... losing his memories and seeking bodily comfort wouldn’t be strange at all.
Then I went and... called that good?
I clamped a hand over my mouth, fighting back the rising nausea.
Revulsion and self-loathing surged within me once more...
"Um... you don’t look well. Are you okay?"
"Ah..."
He was gazing at me with a worried expression.
-Blank stare-
I woke up and blankly surveyed my surroundings with a dazed expression.
Seeing herbs and needles around, it looked like a physician’s place.
I couldn’t recall exactly what had happened, but it seemed I’d successfully escaped that basement unscathed...
What the hell was that earlier, though.
Sex disguised as treatment was a bit disconcerting.
Back on Earth, I’d heard tales in wuxia novels of dual cultivation raising realms or healing illnesses, but I never imagined it’d happen to me.
And what was even more bewildering was something else.
...
It felt like I wasn’t myself—like my mind was foggy, unable to issue commands properly, yet my body moved on its own.
Kind of like with Dang Ayoung.
I frowned at the strange, inexplicable sensation.
As I pondered how to handle this awkward situation,
"Dan Yuseong."
"...?"
The girl called out my name, one she’d never uttered before.
"It feels awfully late to say this now, but... there’s something I need to reveal."
"...Pardon?"
What was she about to disclose, acting like this?
She took a deep breath, as if it was something hard to confess, before her lips finally parted.
"My name is Shin Yuwol... I’m the master of Sword Flower Han So-yeon, who bears the moniker Sword Empress."
"...?"
She said this and squeezed her eyes shut.
Why the sudden self-introduction?
Wait, Sword Empress? She has a disciple?
How old is this woman?
At the very least, her apparent age wasn’t the whole story.
Living with Master for ten years, she hadn’t aged a bit—classic murim stuff—but I hadn’t expected to meet someone like that out here.
I knew the rejuvenation realm wasn’t easy to achieve.
"...Who’s Han So-yeon?"
I didn’t know why she’d opened up, but it seemed tied to this Han So-yeon person she’d mentioned, so I asked back.
It was a name I’d never heard before.
Oddly, hearing it sent a chill through me, but it truly rang no bells.
Assuming her disciple was from Mount Hua, I added that I’d never been there or known anyone from it.
"You’ve never been to Mount Hua...?"
Her expression grew even more bewildered.
Is she mistaking me for someone else?
I hadn’t revealed my name, but maybe she had while I was out.
A hazy memory flickered of me collapsed while she nursed me, so it was possible.
More importantly, I think I messed up big time. What now?
Her goal had been to save me, and I’d unwillingly(?) enjoyed it, so calling it assault felt off.
She’d practically seduced me, so complaining now would be weird.
Honestly, she seems like a great person...
Pretty face, good personality, strong, high status. Ticking every box, she wasn’t just top 0.something percent—she was one you could count on one hand in the Central Plains.
But I had to return to Master within two years. Couldn’t settle down here.
And as a modern Earth guy, sure, first experiences mattered, but not enough to dictate my life...
Let’s just chalk it up to a minor mishap...
I tried to talk it out with her amicably.
She probably didn’t have deep feelings for me either. We’d traveled together, built some fondness, but not love.
I was grateful she’d offered her body for my treatment, but she had her own circumstances too. Binding each other with the "first time" chain wouldn’t be good.
She wouldn’t demand lifelong responsibility from someone she didn’t love.
If anything, she’d be the one raising me, not vice versa.
...And the age gap is massive.
...She won’t ask me to take responsibility, right?
With that resolve, I looked at her—and her condition looked rough.
Hand clamped over her mouth, trembling... no sugarcoating it, she looked bad.
"Um... you don’t look well. Are you okay?"
"Ah..."
She met my eyes and lowered her hand, revealing her pale, ashen face.
I didn’t know what happened, but she needed to calm her emotions.
"Oof..."
I pulled her head to my chest.
And patted her back gently in that position.
"What’s this..."
"You seemed pretty worked up, so I thought this might soothe you."
It was the pose Master used when I writhed alone with homesickness for Earth.
Master’s oversized chest had been uncomfortable, but her heartbeat helped settle my feelings.
I lacked the chest, so maybe not as cozy, but my heartbeat should come through clearer.
"Feeling calmer?"
"...Yeah..."
"Must’ve sleep-talked my name while I was out? You knew it already."
"..."
I could almost hear her swallow.
"Seems like you mistook me for someone else. I don’t know this Han So-yeon the Sword Empress mentioned."
"...Ah..."
"Oh yeah, what about the person you were looking for? Didn’t pan out? Or did you find them, but then I got kidnapped, so you rushed to save me...?"
"Ah, no... it wasn’t that. My mistake, don’t worry about it..."
"Kinda hard to call it fortunate, huh."
My prophecy missed the mark again this time.
Success rate had been decent lately, but failing here of all places.
"Too bad. My divinations aren’t always spot-on... Sorry for getting your hopes up."
"Uh, yeah? R-right... They’re bound to miss sometimes..."
"Nice that you get it as a fellow diviner. Some clients ripped into me for failures."
"R-reading heavenly secrets isn’t easy, after all..."
Judging the moment right, I gently disentangled her from my arms.
Room was stuffy—her face was flushed red.
"All calmed down now?"
"...Yes. Thank you."
"We should get up too. Looks like a clinic; don’t wanna overstay and be a nuisance."
I stood, straightened my clothes, and prepared to leave.
"W-wait..."
The Sword Empress grabbed me urgently as I rose.
"Something you want to say?"
Did she have something urgent?
I asked, seeing her desperate expression, but
"........."
She bit her lip and stayed silent for a long while before
"...No. My mistake."
The response was more anticlimactic than expected.
Thought it was something serious, but glad it wasn’t.